Aimee Semple McPherson, the revivalist preacher sensation of the 1920s, was quite a star in her day. She had a tremendous following and people hung on her words.

She built a large church but seemed to enjoy her traveling revivals more. Aimee had a theatrical streak and enjoyed a spectacle. As you can see, she was an attractive woman:

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She had a husband but they lived apart. Mr. McPherson had, Aimee said, recognized God’s call in her life and had made the great sacrifice of releasing her to go travel around the world spreading the Good News as a missionary.  Very generous of Mr. McPherson.

In the mid-1920s, Aimee was evidently involved in some sort of Gone Girl situation. Maybe she was the original Gone Girl. She inexplicably disappeared and was allegedly held prisoner for mysterious reasons by two “mean men” and a mean woman. If skeptical people snickered when Amy returned after escaping their evil clutches–well, it was evidence of their tragic inability to believe she was a chosen prophet. The fact a man rumored to be her boyfriend was missing during the same period of time has no bearing on the story—absolutely none at all.

After her escape, Aimee wrote her autobiography which she called In Service of the King. Friend of the site Dorothy Parker wrote a really funny review of this book. Parker summarized the book this way: “It may be that this autobiography is set down in sincerity, frankness, and simple effort. It may be, too, that the Statue of Liberty is situated in Lake Ontario.”

I haven’t read Ms. McPherson’s autobiography. After reading a few quotes Dorothy Parker provided, I don’t think I have it in me to read In Service of the King. Parker wrote, “It is difficult to say whether Mrs. McPherson is happier in her crackling exclamations or in her bead-curtain-and-chenille-fringe style. Presumably the lady is happy in both manners. That would make her two up on me.”

The old revival preachers were certainly their own breed, but Aimee Semple McPherson seemed to be a little extra, as the saying goes!